MLS Leaps into the CONCACAF Champions Cup with a Pair of Draws

By: Laurie | March 14th, 2008

Fans of MLS action are starting to get happy again, because this is the week some MLS teams started playing games that actually mean something.

The CONCACAF Champions Cup got under way Wednesday, with MLS Cup winners Houston Dynamo and Supporters Shield winners DC United representing the league. Both played Wednesday night.

The good news is that MLS teams have not yet lost a game.

The bad news? We haven’t won one either.

Both teams finished with draws, with Houston going 0-0 against Guatamala’s Municipal, and DC United finishing1-1 against the Jamaican team Harbor View. Both teams now return to the US for the second leg of the quarterfinals against the same teams.

The CONCACAF Champions Cup is the competition that determines the best club in the CONCACAF region. The current format calls for eight teams to compete in a home/away format. (One game home, one game away, same opponent.) The winner of the competition gets an automatic berth in the World Club Cup.

The Champions Cup has been won twice by MLS teams: DC United in 1998, and the LA Galaxy in 2000. Since then, though, MLS hasn’t even made the final game. We’re hoping for better this year.

In other games, Mexico’s Pachuca also went goalless against the Honduran side CD Motagua, and Mexico’s Atlante beat Costa Rica’s Deportivo Saprissa 2-1.

Four games, three draws. This means next week’s results are really going to count.

The second legs will be played as follows:

18 March 2008
DC United-Harbour View

19 March 2008
Pachuca-CD Motagua
Houston Dynamo-CSD Municipal

20 March 2008
Deportivo Saprissa-Atlante

This will be the last iteration of the Champions Cup in its current form. Starting this summer, CONCACAF will be moving to an expanded version, the CONCACAF Champions League, which will start with a total of 24 teams and run through next May.

For good game recaps of the MLS games, check out these sites:

Houston vs. Municipal, Goal.com

DC vs. Harbour View, Goal.com